Once upon a 1980s
by Rebel-Wolf-of-the-Pack
Summary: The first adventures of the Trinamic Trio (Merton, Tommy, and Lori)*finished!!*
1. The first day of the rest of my life

Okay..this is a flash-back fic..I stopped my other one because I'm having writer's block with it..anyway..hope you enjoy it..it was inspired by Bart's and Ralph's play date on The Simpsons..let me get started...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the BWOC characters, insert legal mumbo jumbo here, yadda yadda yadda, and so on and so forth..  
  
Merton rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I wonder what Mommy made for breakfast," he thought. He sat up and looked around the peach colored room. It was flooded with sunlight, which made it look even more girly. Merton glanced across the room, and noticed his little sister's bed was empty. He sighed, while mumbling "Six-year olds.." Merton pulled his feet over the side of the bed and got up, then he walked downstairs to breakfast.  
  
"Good morning, sweet heart." Mrs. Dingle greeted her son as he plopped down in his usual chair at the kitchen table.  
  
"G'morning Mommy" Merton said sweetly, putting on his cutest grin. "Whatcha make for breakfast?"  
  
"Oatmeal" his mother said simply.  
  
"Ugh..oatmeal..only old people with no teeth eat oatmeal" Merton told his mother with a slight wine in his voice.  
  
"Well just because old people eat oatmeal, doesn't mean nine-year olds can eat it." his mother said with a smile on her face.  
  
"I'm eating MY oatmeal, Mommy" Becky chimed in, hoping for praise from her mother.  
  
Merton mimicked Becky's voice with a high, shrill monotone "I'm eating MY oatmeal, Mommy", then he made a face at Becky  
  
"Mommy, he's making fun of me!" Becky screeched, while she glared at Merton across the table.  
  
"Merton, don't make fun of your sister." his mother said coolly while turning back to the pot of oatmeal "And stop glaring at your brother, Becky"  
  
Becky pouted and tugged on her pigtails in disappointment, and Merton got an evil glint in his cerulean blue eyes.  
  
"Stop looking at me like that, Merton" Becky whined as her brother gave her a maniacal look.  
  
"Looking at you like what, darling sis?" Merton smiled slyly and continued his insane stare.  
  
"You're crazy!" Becky retorted at him, her face turning pink, while her cheeks puffed up in rage.  
  
"Well at least I don't have goofy pigtails" Merton snapped back at her.  
  
"Well at least I don't have a big pointy nose!" Becky told him angrily.  
  
"Well at least I have cooler toys than you" Merton said while relaxing, waiting for a response from his oh-so-jealous sister of all of his toys.  
  
"Well...um..umm..well at least I have friends to share my toys with!" Becky said triumphantly.  
  
Merton felt hurt by those final words. They stung him deep in his heart, because he knew how true they were. Why didn't he have friends he always asked himself. All the kids at school had at least one friend, but Merton, Merton was always alone. Ever since he and Vince went their seperate ways, Merton didn't have anyone to play with, except Becky, but she was never fun to play with for more than five minutes. Merton felt the warm, familiar tears welding in his eyes, but his mother saved him from that agony.  
  
"Becky, why don't you finish up your oatmeal and go play up in your room?" Mrs. Dingle suggested as she saw the pain on her little son's face.  
  
"But I don't wanna, Mommy" Becky said, but saw the stern look on her mother's face, sighs, and leaves the table. Mrs. Dingle walks over to Merton and holds him in a warm hug.  
  
"Merton, why don't you go play ping pong, or feed your hamster down in the basement?" his mother suggested gently, while petting his soft black hair nuturingly.  
  
"Why don't I have any friends, Mom? How come no one likes me?" Merton whimpered, then he snuggled his face into his mother's warm sweater.  
  
"Don't worry, Merton, I met a nice woman yesterday at parent teacher night and I think she might set up a play-date for you and her little boy"  
  
Merton's heart lifted about maybe making a friend, but the thought of it being called a play-date scared him a little. What kind of kid his age went on play-dates? "Thank, Mom. This'll be the first day of the rest of my life!" Merton said dramatically, though it sounded muffled in her sweater. He gave his mother an extra hug, then he scurried downstairs to feed MC Hampster. 


	2. I don't have to stand for this abuse!

Tommy twirled the football between his hands, blocking out his mother's voice as she talked about something or the other. He didn't know why she was scolding Dean, but he guessed it was since Dean had tried to order a satellite again.  
  
"This is the fourth time this month that I've caught you calling the satellite company, Dean! When are you gonna learn that life isn't all about the T.V.?" Sally Dawkins asked her son with contempt in her voice.  
  
"Well I can't help it that I'm stuck to the couch with a broken leg... I'm supposed to be leaving for college on my acting scholarship in a month and this broken leg isn't helping!" Dean retorted nastily at his mother.  
  
Tommy just sat there, in the midst of the confusion, playing with the football. 'Laces in, laces out, laces in, laces out' He continued to switch the position of the laces as the argument roared on.  
  
"But you neglect the fact of how you broke your leg, Dean. It was no fault of mine...I recall you sneaking out to Muellenberg Pastures to go cow tipping with some friends..."  
  
Dean saw where this was going and said with as much dignity he could muster, "I didn't know that the cow was going to fall in my direction! It was like an episode of the Brady Bunch or something!"  
  
Tommy burst out laughing. Every time he heard this story, that was the part that just made him crack up. He pictured in his mind a large, cartoon cow crushing his short, average-size brother, and the thought was just too comical to not laugh at. Not that Tommy didn't love his brother, but it was still funny.  
  
"I don't have to stand for this abuse!" Dean said with disappointment as his younger brother's snickering still continued. "If anyone needs me, I'll be watching Family Ties!" Dean tried to storm off, but with crutches, it was kind of more like hobbling with a vengeance.  
  
'There goes my entertainment for today' Tommy thought with disappointment. Still, he sat at the kitchen table passing the football from one hand to the next, waiting for his lunch to be served.  
  
"Tommy, are you feeling okay? You look a little 'under the weather'." Mrs. Dawkins asked her son affectionately.  
  
"I'm fine..just bored. Really, really bored." Tommy responded, almost a little too quickly.  
  
"Why don't you go play some football with your friends? Aren't they home?"  
  
"They're home...they got mad at me because I wanted to play with my new football and they said I was being a show off"  
  
"Well ....Daddy would play with you, but he's out trying to get some PR, Dean would play with you if his leg wasn't broken. And I don't think you'd want to play with me, do you?", Mrs. Dawkins asked as she cut the peanut butter and jelly sandwich into two halves.  
  
"No offense, Mom, but I don't think you even know how to throw a football.", said Tommy as gently as he could.  
  
"None taken. You're right...I don't know how to throw a football. But I do know how to make a sandwich." she said as she placed the sandwich in front of her son. She sat down at the opposite end of the table and began filing out the large pile of papers  
  
Tommy started to eat the sandwich gratefully, watching his mother seal envelopes like a mad woman. Then he decided to be polite and ask his mom what she did yesterday, after all, she did make him his lunch.  
  
"So, Mom, what'd you do yesterday?" said Tommy while finishing off his first half of the sandwich.  
  
"Well..I went to the grocery store, picked up a few items, then I went to pick you up from school. Then I dropped you off, started making dinner, and went to Parent Teacher Night at your school-"  
  
"Oh no..." Tommy interjected gloomily.  
  
"Oh no, sweetheart, the teacher didn't say anything bad about you. She only said was good things about you..."  
  
"Oh,well that's not what I was worried about. I was worried about you talking to other parents"  
  
"Sorry, Tommy, but I think I talked to just about every parent in your class..but...... guess what?" said Mrs.Dawkins with an expression of sheer delight on her face.  
  
"What? What is it?" said Tommy through the final piece of his sandwich.  
  
"Don't talk with your mouthful," Mrs.Dawkins said sharply, then she started her next sentence, "Well...I was talking to this nice woman I met yesterday, and she said she'd love to have you come over and play with her son."  
  
" Who is it?" Tommy asked while bringing his plate to the sink.  
  
"I think it's umm..Merton, Merton Dingle"  
  
"Who's that? Are you sure he's in my class?" inquired Tommy.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure he's in your class. His mother said that she'd like to have someone come over and play with him, then maybe go to the park by the school to get some fresh air."  
  
"But I don't know who he is!" Tommy said with exaggeration.  
  
"Well I'm sure you'll learn to love him, maybe even become best buds. Now I don't want any more complaining. You go upstairs and put on your sneakers and jacket, while I call his mother to tell her your coming."  
  
"I hope you're right about this kid" Tommy mumbled as he trudged out of the kitchen and up the stairs.  
  
Mrs.Dawkins got out her tiny address book, picked up the phone, and started to dial. 


	3. Mr.Show-Off Tommy Dawkins, Tommy Dawkins...

"Great! You can come over for coffee, then we can walk them to the park. Uh- huh..sure..okay, see you in a bit then, alright, bye." Mrs.Dingle hung up the phone as her son's footsteps were heard pounding up the stairs. Merton walked right through the kitchen and into the living room. Mrs.Dingle heard the high-tone of the TV being turned on, then the blare of cartoons. She walked into the living room and tapped her son on the shoulder.  
  
"Merton, you're play-date's all set" his mother said happily.  
  
Merton winced every time he heard her say 'play-date'. "Okay," he said rather tentatively, "who is it?"  
  
"It's a very nice young boy named Tommy. Tommy Dawkins." she said with a rather large grin.  
  
Merton rolled his eyes and sighed. "You don't mean the 'Mr. Show-Off Tommy Dawkins' Tommy Dawkins, do you?"  
  
"Merton, he is not a show off. And how would you know? You've never played with him before."  
  
"Well...all of his friends say he's this big phony show off.." Merton replied innocently.  
  
"Then they don't sound like very good friends now do they?" she implied.  
  
Merton shook his head then replied carefully "But...do I have to go through with this? What if he hates my video games or things I smell funny? You know, we have such a small house that we'll have to spend all day in, and it'll be totally embarrassing if I have to show him my "Pretty in peach" room, that by the way I am forced to share..." he continued to ramble on about the imperfections of his home.  
  
"You're in luck today, young man."  
  
"Really? So I don't have to have him come over and see our eensie weensie house?" Merton said with hope in his eyes.  
  
"Not exactly...you two are going to go play at the park instead. How does that sound?"  
  
Merton mumbled to himself, "It sounds like someone just dooped me with false hopes.."  
  
"Oh, Merton, don't be so dramatic, you'll have a great day. Now go upstairs and get ready, they should be here any time soon." his mother said, closing off any further comments from her slightly agitated son.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~The Dawkins' Household~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mrs.Dawkins jingled the car keys and impatiently tapped her foot.  
  
"I'm leaving right now, Tommy, the bus is leaving!" she called upstairs. Tommy jumped down half of the stairs, then ran the rest of the way down. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to tie one of his shoes, so he tripped, and fell flat on his face. The football was still curled tightly under his right hand. Dean roared with laughter from the living room.  
  
"Oh man..I wish I coulda taped that..that is America's Funniest Home videos material!" was all Dean could get out before he started choking on a potato chip.  
  
"Dean! Are you okay?? Breathe!" Mrs.Dawkins bellowed at her eldest son. Dean coughed up the chip and went on like nothing had happened.  
  
"You better stop eating all that junk food, you're going to be the size of a whale by the time your leg heals." she said as she lifted Tommy to his feet and tied his shoe.  
  
"I will never gain weight," Dean said confidently, "my metabolism is way too fast." and he turned back to the TV.  
  
"All set to go now?" Tommy's mother asked him while she checked her opened the front door to let him pass.  
  
"Yup..I'm ready to go....but, if the kid starts to act weird, can I fake sick and go home?" 


	4. Mi casa es su casa

Merton sat on the couch, twidling with his thumbs, waiting for the dorobell to ring. Outisde, he heard car doors slam. 'Uh -oh..they're here!' he thought with anxiety. He twiddled his thumbs quickly back and forth, and then, the noise he was dreading came. The doorbell had rung.  
  
"Merton, answer the door, Mommy has to put out the coffee."  
  
"Oh great..now I have to be a host to these people.." Merton mumbled as he got up from the couch and made his way to the door. He put his hand on the door knob, and turned it slowly, then opened the door, like it was about unleash a monster from the other side. Merton stared ahead of him, looking straight into these innocent hazel brown eyes, then he tried to smile and give a warm welcome.  
  
"Uhhh.." Merton was lost for words, then quickly recovered with, "Welcome to our humble abode! Come in, come in, mi casa es su casa." and made room for them to pass through the doorway. The boy in front of him snickered as he made his way into the cozy living room. His mother apparently loved the joke, as she laughed raucously at the simple welcoming.  
  
"Nice greeting" the brown haired boy mumbled.  
  
The mother of the boy went straight into the kitchen, and from the living room, Merton heard their rather loud conversation. Then, as the din in the litchen paused for a second, Mrs. Dingle called, "You boys introduce yourselves, and show him your room, Merton. We'll take you two the park after you've gotten acquainted." Then the chatter continued. Merton just stared at his shoes, and at the other kid's shoes, until the brown haired kid made a brave act. He stuck out his hand, ready to shake, and said, "Hi, I'm Tommy."  
  
Merton stared at his hand for a moment, then held out his and shook it. "I'm Merton."The boys stood there shaking hands for a few minutes, then awkwardly let go, leaving a gaping eerie silence. Tommy once again broke the ice.  
  
"Do you think I could see your room? Since we're um...supposed to get 'acquainted'" Tommy asked politely.  
  
"Sure," Merton responded, "but you know they're just trying to get us to leave them alone."  
  
"Oh, my mom's the expert at that" Tommy mimicked a girly voice and said, "'Why don't you play some football down the street? You'll have lots of fun and you'll meet new children!' I think that means 'Get out of the house before I make you.' kinda thing" Tommy finished with conviction.  
  
Merton laughed at the impression on how true it was. "Okay...just warning, my room, is peach, because I share it with my sister. So it looks really girly. But when I'm 18, I'm moving out of this house. I'm not gonna be one of those kids who lives in their parents' basement and mooches uncontrollably. Know what I mean?"  
  
Tommy nodded, but Merton wasn't too sure if he understood all that, he tended to ramble on sometimes.  
  
"So can I see your room now?" Tommy asked eagerly.  
  
"Alrighty, let's go then." Merton replied, and they began to trudge upstairs together, talking about nine-year old matters.  
  
[i] What do you thihk? More to come! Sorry this chapter took sooo long [/i] 


	5. Becksterheimer

"Don't you have any board games? Like Monopoly or something?" Tommy asked, putting the comic book currently in his hands back of the bedside table.  
  
"Umm...I did have Clue, but..." Merton looked nervously at the closet, then back at Tommy, "my mom gave it away."  
  
"Oh okay...well, what do you wanna do then?" Tommy said while plopping down on the edge of Merton's bed.  
  
"Er...um..." Merton responded, puzzledly.  
  
"Do you wanna...play football?" Tommy asked, picking up his football, getting a look of hope in his eyes.  
  
"I uh...don't know how to...." Merton's voice trailed off quietly  
  
"Oh..well...that's okay..then let's do something else." Tommy said, trying to get rid of the disappointment on Merton's face.  
  
"We could......um....um....scare my sister!" Merton said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of a tormented Becky.  
  
"Do you really think that that's okay with your mom?" Tommy said, giving Merton a nervous glance.  
  
"Since when does it matter if it's okay with my mom? She isn't the boss of me-"  
  
"Umm, Merton.."  
  
"No, let me finish, what was I saying?"  
  
"You were saying how you love your mother very much and always listen to what she says." Mrs.Dingle's voice said from behind Merton.  
  
Merton laughed nervously, and spun around on his heels to face his mother, "Of course that's what I was saying, Tommy, why do you think I'd say anything else?" Merton tried to pull off innocently.  
  
"Right...of course that's what you said..." Merton's mother said, giving him a look on contemplation. She paused for a moment, then continued, "You two better be ready, we're leaving in five minutes" then she left the doorway and went downstairs.  
  
Merton turned around and started laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" Tommy asked, getting confused by his new friend's laughter.  
  
"You are the biggest goodie two shoes I've ever met..." Merton got out through his laughs.  
  
Tommy clenched his jaw, and said "I am not a goodie two shoes!"  
  
Merton was about to disagree, until he heard a familiar giggle behind him. He turned around once again, to see Becky, peeking around the door. "Get away, Becky Becksterheimer."  
  
"This is my room, too! I can come in here any time I want! It's a free country, you know." Becky said, trying to sound smart.  
  
"Actually, it isn't a free country, everyone has to pay taxes." Merton responded knowledgeably.  
  
Becky stood there, thinking of what to say next, when she looked at Tommy again, and began blushing.  
  
"Ugh, no come back? You're losing your touch, Becky. We gotta go anyway, come on, Tommy" Merton commanded nicely.  
  
"Okay, see you later, um, what's your name again?" Tommy asked.  
  
"Oh nevermind, her, let's go." Merton said and he grabbed Tommy's arm without the football and dragged him out of the room.  
  
After they had left, Becky pouted as she mumbled, "Becky, my name's Becky.."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
When they were out on the street, walking to the park, the two mothers made simple small talk, as to not reveal anything grown up to the children. Merton and Tommy walked swiftly, trying to keep up with their mothers, while also anticipating playing at the park. Finally, they arrived, and quickly disguarded their guardians with hugs and kisses, and waited until they were around the corner to begin their adventure.  
  
"What do you wanna do first?" Merton asked, his eyes darting all over the park, from the swings to the large jungle gym.  
  
"I dunno," Tommy said, "how about we go on the seesaw or something?"  
  
"Sure!" Merton said. He was beginning to like this kid, he knew exactly what he was thinking. As they made their way over to the seesaw, they were stopped by some angry yells and accusations that were coming from the jungle gym. Tommy ran over first, Merton quickly following him. When they arrived, they saw a fight was about to start, and there were no adults around to stop it.  
  
"Wow," Merotn mumbled to Tommy, "this day gets better and better." he finished with a sly grin. 


	6. The Prissy Missy

Merton stood there, staring at the two girls about to fight. Both were just a little shorter than he was, but the one on the right looked pretty tough for her size. She had blonde hair, pulled into two pigtails, blue green eyes, and was wearing a navy baseball t-shirt. Her light blue jeans were slightly dirty, and her sneakers looked as worn out as his grandmother's face. She stood, hands on her hips, with her face pulled into a mean glare. The other girl, however, looked as if she'd just gotten back from the dry cleaners. With her curly red hair pulled back into two small butterfly clips, she wore a pink t-shirt, purple jeans, and brand new white sneakers. Her aqua-marine eyes were glaring back at the other girl, with such malice and anger. Tommy shifted nervously next to him, and Merton wondered what was happening. Tommy leaned in, and whispered into Merton's ear, "That's Stacey, with the red hair, she's in our class."  
  
"Who's the other girl?" Merton asked quietly.  
  
"I don't know...I've never seen her before" Tommy whispered back once again.  
  
Just as Merton was about to respond, the talking began.  
  
"You take that back, right now," Stacey said sharply,"or I'm telling."  
  
"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots" the other girl said with much sarcasim for a nine-year old.  
  
"You're a very rude person, I don't know how people can put up with you.." said Stacey coldly.  
  
"You're a very rude person too, and I don't know how people can look at you." the blonde girl said, smirking in triumph.  
  
"Ugh! How can you say that when you're practically a Tom-boy!?" Stacey spat in the other girl's face.  
  
"It's not my fault I'm not 'Daddy's little Princess', I can't be prissy and stuck up like you."  
  
Everyone except for the girl gasped. Prissy is considered a bad word to nine-year-olds, you know. Everyone was quiet, while the blonde girl pondered of what to say next.  
  
"Fine, just take the stupid swing" she finally said. "I don't want it anymore."  
  
"Really? Are you serious?" Stacey asked.  
  
"Yeah...go ahead...I was hoping we would fight for it...but since you might break a nail, and I don't wanna waste my time on you..." the girl trailed off.  
  
"Umm thanks..I guess." Stacey said, then she hopped off towards the Swing, the only one that's chains weren't rusty or broken from rain.  
  
Tommy knew his mouth was hanging open, and he was pretty sure Merton's was too. He continued to stare at the blonde girl in awe.  
  
"You two are gonna catch flies if you keep staring like that. Haven't you ever seen a girl before?" the girl asked with suspiscion.  
  
"D'I..d'um.... er.." Merton started rambling off unsensically  
  
"Well?" she asked once more, looking more innocent than she had thrirty seconds ago.  
  
"What Merton means is yes. It's just we haven't seen a girl quite like you in a long time..." Tommy recovered, making eye contact with her, then he turned his head away quickly  
  
"Never, actually." Merton chimed in.  
  
"You two must be hermits or something then...anyway..I'm Lori, Lori Baxter" the girl introduced herself.  
  
"How come-" Merton started to say.  
  
"And you've never seen me at school because I go to Pleasantville Catholic." Lori finished  
  
Tommy and Merton nodded with understanding, then Tommy decided to introduce himself.  
  
"I'm Tommy Dawkins, and this is Merton...Merton..what's your last name again?"  
  
"Dingle.....and go ahead..laugh all you want..." Merton said, disappointed.  
  
Tommy and Lori stood there, not laughing, but smiling at Merton.  
  
"What? Is my fly open or something?" Merton asked, confused.  
  
"No, it's just that your last name isn't funny." said Lori.  
  
"Oh...okay..well everyone else thinks it is..." he trailed off.  
  
Tommy played with his sneakers in the dirt, until he heard a familiar howling laughter, coming from a large group.  
  
"Oh no...everybody, hide!" said Tommy, frantically trying to push Lori and Merton into the tubed jungle gym.  
  
"Why?" Lori persisted, grounding her feet in the soil, "Why do you want us to hide?"  
  
Merton followed her example, and resisted his friend trying to push him in the tube.  
  
"Because..because..." Tommy stammered out, before a dirty hand landed on his shoulder.  
  
Merton's eyes grew wide as he realized why Tommy had wanted to hide.  
  
"Hello, Dawkins.." came a familiar scruff voice, "why don't you introduce us to your friends?" 


	7. Let's get ready to rumble

Tommy gulped, as he turned around slowly to come face to face with Chuck, followed by Tim and Travis Eckert, and some other cronies who Tommy thought were his friends.  
  
"Hey guys, what's up?" Tommy squeaked out nervously.  
  
"Didn't you hear me the first time, Dawkins? Introduce us to your friends." Chuck commanded as he shoved Tommy backwards.  
  
"Hey! What's your problem?" Lori piped up from behind Tommy.  
  
"Aw, look, Trav, Dawkins's girlfriend wants to defend him, how sweet." Tim commented from behind Chuck.  
  
"Shut up! I'm not his girlfriend!" Lori roared from behind Tommy, and he had to push her back to keep from tackling one of them.  
  
"And who's this freak show?" Chuck said as he gestured to Merton, "Another friend for you to show off to?"  
  
Merton stood there, resembling a statue of a small puppy dog, pouting at its master. Even though no one responded except for Lori's rants and shouts, Chuck continued.  
  
"You aren't gonna even do anything, Dawkins? Huh? Are you?" Chucked demanded, shoving Tommy harder this time.  
  
"I'm warning you, man, don't touch me again," Tommy said, almost as light as whisper. "you'll regret it." he clenched his fists and gave Chuck a cold stare.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Chuck pushed Tommy, causing him to fall over and into the dirt. The gang behind Chuck laughed raucously. As Tommy tried to pull himself up, he heard a sickening "Crack!" He looked over to where Chuck was standing. Instead of a sneering Chuck, Tommy saw Lori and her outright fist remaining in the air, while Chuck fell in slow motion to the ground. Tommy got up quickly, staring at Lori and the crowd of boys in front of her.  
  
"Whoa..." Merton uttered, astonished. He'd never seen anyone do THAT before.  
  
Chuck got up quickly, still holding his chin in his hands. "Why little bi-" Chuck got out before swinging his fist at Lori. She ducked quickly, his arm skimming her hair. Merton snickered, laughing at the look on Chuck's face. Chuck growled in anger, and lunged at Merton.  
  
"Oof!" Merton moaned as he was drove into the ground.  
  
Chuck laughed with delight from the pain he put into Merton.  
  
"Looks like this one isn't so tough," Chuck said as he got up, and motioned the others to crowd around Merton, "let's get him."  
  
"Leave him alone!" Tommy interrupted, shoving Chuck out of the way. Soon enough, they were both on the ground, rolling around and punching each other. Once, Tim tried to get in a cheap shot and help Chuck, but Lori caught him in the act, and started kicking him in the shins.  
  
"Help me, Trav, she's vicious!" Tim wailed, and Travis tried to pull Lori away, but she snarled at him and he ran away screaming. Merton was crouched by the tubes of the jungle gym, watching with wide eyes the havoc happening in the playground. Nearly everyone had scattered, except for the two still trying to fend for themselves, and Travis hiding in the slide. Merton watched as Tommy pinned Chuck down finally. Even though it was a violent struggle, Merton hadn't really seen Tommy trying to hurt Chuck, more like Tommy defending himself.  
  
"Get off of me!" Chuck screamed, struggling under the weight on his stomach.  
  
"I'll let you leave if you never bother me about being a show off, and if you stop making fun of everyone and..."  
  
'Okay, I get it. Can you please get off of me now?" Chuck begged.  
  
"Fine.." said Tommy reluctantly as he stood up, watching Chuck rise while rubbing his ribs.  
  
"Come on Tim, let's go" Chuck called over to his large friend, who was whimpering while rubbing his shins. They both left rather quickly, considering that Tim was almost in tears.  
  
"Well," Lori said as she dusted off her hands and walked over to Tommy, "feel like having this much fun everyday?" 


	8. Almost the last chapter...

"Explain to me why we're doing this again?" Tommy asked as he untied his shoe and handed it to Lori. He sat down on the bench next to Merton, while Lori stood against the monkey bars.  
  
"This is so we never forget today," she said, as she took out her black permanent marker, "because it was the first time we, umm...well I don't really know why, but I saw it on TV, so we're gonna do it."  
  
"Where did you get that marker from? And why is it so ready in your pocket?" Merton asked.  
  
"I was being...'artistic' on the girls' bathroom wall" Lori smirked.  
  
"Okay..but before you write on my new sneakers, can I just have one reason for remembering today?" Tommy asked, looking at his Converse sneaker in Lori's hand, and the black marker moving ever closer to it.  
  
"Umm..Merton, help me out, here.." Lori uttered.  
  
"It's a girl thing?" he stated questionably. Lori turned to glare at him. "How about, our first triumph over the bad guys?" he flinched, hoping Lori wouldn't punch him.  
  
"Hey, that's not half bad. Tommy, good enough reason for you?" Lori asked him, the felt tip of the marker inches from the tip of his sneaker.  
  
"Yeah, okay" he got out just before he heard the squeaking of the marker.  
  
"L plus T plus M," Lori grumbled, while concentrating to keep the letters neat, "there, all finished. That wasn't so hard, was it?" and she handed Tommy his shoe back.  
  
"Thanks" he said as he put his foot back into his shoe. "Besides, if I would've disagreed, you probably woulda kicked me in the shins" Tommy said, snickering at Lori. Merton joined in, but Lori gave them both a stern look.  
  
"You have to know how to defend yourself these days...there could be evil around every corner..." Lori confirmed.  
  
"Oh no, Tommy, behind you, it's the boogie man!" Merton joked, putting a fake look of horror on his face.  
  
"Help!" Tommy gasped, standing up and clutching his heart dramatically, "he's got me!" Tommy fell to the floor dead, then broke out into fits of laughter.  
  
Lori looked at him and Merton, and said "If you two aren't gonna be serious.." but they continued to laugh. "Fine, I'm leaving. I had a good time, but now you're just acting stupid." She rolled her eyes at them once more and ran out of the playground. From outside the fence, she waved to them, with a proud smile, as they finally stopped laughing and got up.  
  
"I hope you both know how to clean yourselves up in sixty seconds or less..." she called across the playground.  
  
"Why?" Merton called back.  
  
"Because your mothers are here and you're dirtier than a swamp. See you later!" she called as she laughed and skipped off.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~The Dingle Household~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"What on earth happened to you, Merton? This is the third time you've ignored me about why you're all dirty." Mrs.Dingle persisted, her face pink.  
  
"If I tell you, you're not gonna be happy." Merton said, looking at his shoes.  
  
"Try me" she answered.  
  
And so Merton told her what happened, that Chuck had tried to beat them up, but Tommy made him leave. He didn't tell her about Lori though, she might think he had some type of girlfriend. When he fnished his short story, his mother gasped.  
  
"Merton, I don't think that you should be playing with a child who can get into fights so easily. Maybe you were right in the beginning..he probably isn't the best match up for you. Don't worry, though, we'll find someone else. Now go upstairs and wash up, dinner's almost ready. And I don't want one word of today from you to your father, or Becky. Now get along, go upstairs, and make sure to wash behind your ears!" is what she had gotten in before Merton could even protest. And before he knew it, Merton was shoved out of the kitchen, friendless once again, and dirty, very, very dirty.. 


	9. Last Chapter..yay

The days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and eventually, it had been a few years since that fateful day when Merton had made a friend. His mother insisted to set up more "playdates", but he refused and ended up staying home to watch the Discovery Channel. He barely ever saw the light of day, keeping himself cooped up in his room or in the living room, with the shades drawn, allowing his skin to become ghostly pale. When he watched television, he felt like he had someone, something to keep him company. He knew that he could name just about every species of cnidarians, in alphebetical order. So far the special had been his favorite. But one Friday night in the eighth grade, when he should've been at the school dance, he instead tuned in to his favorite station, where a new show was on. It was called "Hungry like the Wolf" and was about the migration patterns and adaptations of wolves. Merton was so fascinated by their life out of the animal society, how they had others of their kind with them, and so he began to read as many books as he could on them. And since the Pleasantville library always was lacking in materials, Merton promised himself his own personal library when he grew older.  
  
In his search across the television channels for anything on wolves, he stumbled upon a channel he'd never been allowed to watch, MTV. Only watching for a few minutes, he saw pale complextioned people like himself, in black with black make-up, even make-up on the guys. They were dancing, or rather slamming against each other to rather loud unclear music. In awe at the sight, he continued to watch the show, and at the end he found himself asking new questions about his life. He didn't know if God had made him find the show, or if he found it out of his own will. At the end of the eighth grade, Merton received an excellent surprise. His parents had refurbished the basement, with a new TV and computer, and he was allowed to move in whenever he wanted. Of course he moved in right away, not missing Becky and her airhead friends for a minute. He finally was allowed his own privacy. He bought magazines, make-up, hair products, books, anything about or havign to do with the Goth lifestyle. He hadn't really learned much, but he knew that he would. And so on the first day of his adventure into high- school, he woke up at 5 am to get himself ready. He rumaged through his closet for an all black ensombol, and found out that nearly everything he wore had already been black. He put on his clothes, then he began to work on his hair. He managed to spike it very well, using the instructions from August's Goth World. Then he started on the make-up. When he was calledup for breakfast at 7:30, his mother and father nearly choked on their coffee. Becky gasped and said "Halloween isn't for another month." Merton sighed and took his usual seat, although feeling the eyes of his parents on him more than usual. As he ate his cereal, he saw the lipstick smudging on his spoon, and decided maybe make-up wasn't the best idea. He went to school, and was tormented there, too. The best insults that had been given to him by the dopes of Pleasantville were "Freaker" or "Freakshow". They didn't really bother him, but having no one friendly to talk to was disappointing. During one of his boring classes, he heard the teacher mention werewolf, and immediately felt like researching. The teacher had described werewolves as ferocious beast, living alone and on the prowl. His previous enfatuations with wolves felt like a dro of water in his mind compared to the rushing river he felt then. He looked forward to the end of the school, and when that last bell rang, he ran home to start a website of new beginnings.  
  
~~~~~~The Dawkins' Household, 2002~~~~~~  
  
Tommy ran down the stairs with the last of the shoes and clothes for good will. He was covered in dust, having been in the attic all day.  
  
"I've got the last box, Mom." he huffed out as he dropped it on the floor. Socks and shoes went everywhere,  
  
so he stooped to pick them up. As he was putting the box back to order, he found his old pair of sneakers, looking old and tattered. He remembered these were the shoes that he first played football in, had first rode a bike in, had first climbed a tree in. It brought back Tommy's old memories, and he began to miss the good old days. He was putting them back in the box, when he noticed something that he hadn't seen before. On the front of one of the sneakers, there were letters written in black. He didn't remember where they had came from, until he actually read the letters.  
  
"T, L, M," he repeated over and over, the letters confusing him more everytime he read them. His mother stepped into the room. She picked up the box of shoes and said "What are you doing?" Tommy had no idea what he was doing, but he did ask her where the letters came from.  
  
"Don't you remember," she asked, "the day that you went out to play and came home with those new shoes marked up? And I told you to scrub them off, but you said it was permanent?" she would've continued, continued, but Tommy interrupted with an "Oh!" as he ran past his mother, leaving her a bit disheveled. "Where are you going?" she called after the closing front door. She sighed and figured he'd have to come home for dinner anyway.  
  
Tommy wolfed out, and ran full speed towards the Lair. merton would not believe what he just found...  
  
The End-kinda sucky but, it's finished! Yay! Read and review and tell me how badly it sucked. 


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